Chapter 2

Take a dozen milk crackers, break them up in small pieces and put into a pudding dish. Heat 1 qt. of milk, until boiling, sweeten and flavor to taste with vanilla, lemon or orange, and stir into it three well-beaten eggs. Take the milk from the fire at once and pour over the broken crackers. When cool stand on the ice and serve icy cold.

MARCH.

1.--Veal Mould.

Boil 3 eggs, cut in slices crosswise and line the bottom and sides of a mould. Place in the mould alternate layers of thin slices of cold veal and ham. Cover with stock well boiled down. Set into the oven for 1/2 an hour; when cold turn out of mould and garnish with parsley.

2.--Halibut Rechauffe.

Cut an onion into a saucepan, add a cup of water, a little mace and parsley. When thoroughly boiled, add 1 cup of cream or milk, 1 small spoonful of butter, 1 tablespoonful of flour, and strain all through a sieve. Take cold halibut, remove the bones and skin, and flake it, butter a dish and put in a layer of fish then one of the dressing, alternately, until the dish is full. Put grated bread crumbs on top and bake half an hour.

3.--Yorkshire Pork Pie.

Chop lean pork somewhat coarsely; butter a pudding dish and line with good paste; put in the pork interspersed with minced onion and hard boiled eggs, cut into bits and sprinkle with pepper, salt, and powdered sage. Now and then dust with flour and drop in a bit of butter. When all the meat is in, dredge with flour and stick small pieces of butter quite thickly all over it. Cover with puff paste, cut a slit in the middle of the crust and bake 1/2 an hour for each lb. of meat. When it begins to brown, wash the crust with the white of an egg. It will give a fine gloss to it.--From "The National Cook Book," by Marion Harland and Christine Terhune Herrick.

4.--Coffee Fritters.

Cut stale bread into finger-shaped pieces, mix 3/4 of a cup of coffee infusion, 2 tablespoonfuls of sugar, 1/4 of a teaspoonful of salt, 1 egg slightly beaten, and 1/4 of a cup of cream. Dip the pieces of bread into the liquid and "egg and bread crumb," and fry in deep fat. Drain on soft paper at the oven door. Serve at once, with sauce.--Janet M. Hill, in "Boston Cooking School Magazine."

COFFEE SAUCE.--Scald 1-1/2 cups of milk, half a cup of ground coffee, and let stand 20 minutes. Strain and add the infusion slowly to 1/3 of a cup of sugar, mixed with 3/4 of a tablespoonful of arrowroot and a few grains of salt. Cook 5 minutes. Serve hot.--"Boston Cooking School Magazine."

5.--Finnan-haddie.

Wash the fish thoroughly, soak 1/2 an hour in cold water, skin side up; then cover with boiling water and let stand 5 minutes. Drain carefully, then remove the skin and bone. Put the flaked fish into a buttered serving dish and pour over it white sauce equal in quantity to that of the fish; cover with buttered crumbs and bake in a hot oven long enough to brown the crumbs.--Janet M. Hill, in "Boston Cooking School Magazine."

6.--Roast Pigeons with Bread Sauce.

Stuff the pigeons with ordinary force meat. Roast and serve around a pyramid of baked tomatoes, and serve with the following sauce.

SAUCE.--Simmer three small onions, sliced, in 1/2 a pint of milk for an hour. Take out the onions, put in grated bread, a small lump of butter, pepper, salt, a dessertspoonful of chopped parsley, 1 chili and 1 anchovy (washed and boned) shredded fine. Make it the consistency of bread sauce.

7.--Oyster Chartreuse.

Boil and mash fine 6 potatoes, add a cupful of milk, salt and pepper to taste, a little butter, and the whites of 4 eggs beaten to a stiff froth. Have a plain mould well buttered and sprinkle the bottom and sides with bread crumbs. Line the mould with the potatoes and let stand for a few minutes. Put a slice of onion and 1 pt. of cream or milk to boil. Mix two tablespoonfuls of flour with a little cream or milk, and stir into the boiling cream. Season well with salt and pepper and cook eight minutes. Let the oysters come to a boil in their own liquor, skim them out and add to the cream, take out the piece of onion. Season and turn carefully into the mould. Cover with mashed potato, being careful not to add too much at once. Bake 1/2 an hour. Take from the oven about ten minutes before dishing and let it cool a little. Then place a large dish over the mould and turn out carefully. Caution should be taken that every part of the mould has a thick coating of the potato, and when the covering is put on, no opening is left for the sauce to escape.

8.--Potatoes au Gratin.

Slice eight boiled potatoes, and put a layer of them in a buttered baking dish; make a white sauce with 1 tablespoonful each of butter and flour and a cup of milk; season with cayenne and salt; cover the layer of potatoes with a layer of sauce, and so continue until the dish is full. Sprinkle the top with bread crumbs and grated cheese; bake about 20 minutes.

9.--Mutton Kidneys.

Cut some mutton kidneys, open down the centre, do not separate them; peel, and pass a skewer across them to keep them open, season and dip them in melted butter, broil over a clear fire, doing the cut side first; remove the skewers; have ready a little butter mixed with some chopped parsley, salt, pepper and a little lemon juice and a dash of nutmeg; put a small piece of this butter in the centre of each kidney and serve hot.

10.--Beefsteak and Kidney Pudding.

Cut 2 lbs. of round steak into small pieces and slice one beef kidney. Line a deep dish with suet crust, leaving a small piece of crust to overlap the edge, then cover the bottom with a portion of the steak and kidney, season with salt and pepper, then add more steak and kidney, season again. Put in sufficient stock or water to come to within 2 inches of the top of the dish. Moisten the edges of the crust with cold water, cover the pudding over, press the two crusts together that the gravy may not escape and turn up the overhanging paste. Steam for 3 or 4 hours.

11.--Hot Pot.

Cut nice pieces of cold pork and put them into a deep pan. (If there are bones put them on to simmer and make a gravy, if not, use stock.) Parboil some potatoes and onions, cut them into rather large pieces and mix them in well with the meat, season with pepper, salt and a little sage, and add the gravy. Put a layer of potatoes on the top and brown in the oven.

12.--Lobster Patties.

Mince the boiled lobster meat, add to it 6 drops anchovy sauce, lemon juice and cayenne to taste and 4 tablespoonfuls of béchamel sauce. Line patty pans with light paste. Stir the lobster mixture over the fire for 5 minutes and put in the cases.

BÉCHAMEL SAUCE.--One small bunch of parsley, 2 cloves, small bunch of herbs, salt to taste, 1 cup white stock and 1 cup of milk, 1 tablespoonful of arrowroot.

13.--Curried Fowl.

Chop fine pieces of cold fowl, and brown 2 onions in 2 ozs. butter, add 1 teaspoonful flour, 1 dessertspoonful curry powder, 1 tablespoonful lemon juice, 1/2 pint gravy, season with salt and pepper. Stew 20 minutes.

14.--Minced Collops.

Mince very fine 1 lb. of beef, 1 onion, 2 ozs. suet; add a little flour, pepper and salt. Stew half an hour, stirring frequently.

15.--Crescent Croquettes.

Roll some light pie crust very thin and cut in half moons. Chop beef or mutton very fine, add a little summer savory, parsley, salt and pepper. Lay some of this between two layers of paste. Egg and bread crumb them and fry in boiling fat for ten minutes.

16.--German Way of Cooking Chickens.

Stuff the chickens with a force meat made of French rolls, a little butter, egg, finely-chopped onion, parsley, thyme, and grated lemon peel; then lard and bread crumb them, putting a piece of fat over the breasts that they may not become too brown. Place them in a stewpan with 1 oz. of butter, leave uncovered for a short time, then cover and bake about 1-1/2 hours. Half an hour before serving add a small cup of cream or milk and baste thoroughly over a hotter fire.

17.--Breast of Lamb Broiled.

Heat and grease a gridiron, broil a breast of lamb first on one side, then on the other. Rub over with butter, pepper and salt. Serve on a hot dish with mint sauce.

18.--Onion Soup.

Simmer 2 finely minced onions for 3/4 of an hour in a qt. of stock. Rub through a colander and put back again on the stove. Stir 2 tablespoonfuls each of flour and butter together until smooth; add to the soup. In another saucepan heat a cup of milk and a pinch of soda, add this to the stock, beat in the white of an egg, season with salt and pepper, and minced parsley.

19.--Saratoga Corn Cake.

Sift together 2 cups of pastry flour, 1-1/2 cups of granulated yellow corn-meal, 1/2 a cup of sugar, 1/2 a teaspoonful of salt, and 1 teaspoonful of soda. Beat 2 eggs without separating, add 2 cups of thick sour cream or milk, and three tablespoonfuls of melted butter, and stir into the dry mixture. Beat thoroughly and bake in a large shallow pan for 25 minutes.--Janet M. Hill, in "Boston Cooking School Magazine."

20.--Clam Pie No. 1.

(An old New England seashore dish.)

Chop the clams if large, saving the liquor that runs from them. Heat, strain, and season this and cook the chopped clams for 10 minutes in it. Have a thick top crust of good pastry, but none at the bottom of the bake dish. Fill with alternate layers of the minced clams, season with salt, pepper, a few drops of onion juice, some bits of butter and a few teaspoonfuls of strained tomato sauce, and thin slices of boiled potatoes. Dredge each layer of clams with flour. Lastly, pour in a cupful of clam juice, put on the crust and bake half an hour in a quick oven.--From "The National Cook Book," by Marion Harland and Christine Terhune Herrick.

21.--Collared Head.

Boil 1/2 a pig's head until the meat comes from the bone, chop it fine and add salt and pepper and a slice of onion minced very fine. Stir all well together and turn into a mould. Serve cold.

22.--Lobster Creams.

Whip 1/2 a pint of cream stiff, season it highly with cayenne and salt. Cut up 1/2 a boiled lobster and mix with the cream. Put into cases. Garnish with parsley and some of the lobster coral.

23.--Western Balls.

Put 1/2 a pound of boiled potatoes through a sieve, mix with them 2 ozs. of grated ham, a little butter, a well-beaten egg, cayenne and salt to taste; if not moist enough, add a little cream, form into small balls, egg and bread crumb them and fry a golden brown in deep fat.

24.--Zephyr Eggs.

Beat four eggs very light, add to them a pint of cream, season with salt and pepper. Butter small moulds and pour in the mixture, stand the moulds in a pan with about 2 inches of water, steam 20 minutes. Turn them out and pour a rich brown gravy around them. Garnish with chopped olives and red chillies.

25.--English Bread Pudding.

Grease small cups and fill 2/3 full with bread crumbs and a little chopped candied fruit; beat 2 eggs without separating and 2 tablespoonfuls of sugar and 1-1/2 cups of milk. Pour this carefully over the crumbs and stand the cups in a pan of boiling water and bake in a moderate oven 15 minutes. Turn out and serve with a vanilla or wine sauce.

26.--Tomato Jelly Salad.

Cook a can of tomatoes with 1/2 an onion, a stalk of celery, a bay leaf and pepper and salt. Dissolve 3/4 of a box of gelatine in 1/2 a cup of cold water. Add the gelatine to the tomato and strain into small round moulds; serve each one on a lettuce leaf with a circle of mayonnaise dressing around.

27.--Clams Sauteed and Creamed.

Chop fine two strings of soft shell clams after washing them. Melt one large tablespoonful of butter in a frying pan, add the clams and stir frequently until they are nicely browned. Keep well broken with a spoon. When browned dredge over them 1 heaping tablespoonful of butter and stir again until it is absorbed and browned, then add gradually 1 cupful of milk, stirring until it is smooth and thick. Season well with salt and pepper, simmer for 5 minutes and serve on toast.--"Table Talk," Phila.

28.--Cheese Fondue No. 1.

Beat 5 eggs without separating. When light, add 1 cupful of grated Swiss or mild American cheese, 1/2 a teaspoonful of salt, 1/4 of a teaspoonful of white pepper, and three tablespoonfuls of butter cut into bits. Cook in a double boiler until the cheese has melted and the mixture is smooth and as thick as custard. Pour over hot buttered toast and send at once to the table.--"Table Talk," Phila.

29.--Beef Cutlets.

Trim and cut like cutlets some slices of beef; season. Fry on both sides until done; sprinkle over them chopped parsley, place on a dish and serve with a brown gravy.

30.--German Prune Cake.

For this use a recipe for short cake adding more milk to make it into a thick batter. Turn into a shallow, oblong pan and over the top press lightly into the mixture a close layer of partly cooked prunes. Sprinkle thickly with granulated sugar and bake in a quick oven. Serve hot.--From "Table Talk," Phila.

31.--Dormers.

Chop cold beef very fine, and season it with salt and pepper, then add some onion chopped fine and fried previously, also some rice boiled very dry. Mix all well together and make into small rounds, flour them and fry until brown. Serve with a hot gravy poured over them.

APRIL.

1.--Potato and Meat Turnovers.

Mix with mashed potatoes a few spoonfuls of flour, a little salt and baking powder in the proportion of half a teaspoonful to 1/2 a cupful of flour. Use only sufficient flour to roll out in a 1/2 inch sheet. Cut into circles the size of a saucer, lay on each a spoonful of seasoned meat, fold over and pinch the edges together. Lay on a greased pan, brush each with milk and bake brown in a hot oven.--From "Table Talk," Phila.

2.--Browned Potato Puree.

Put 3 tablespoonfuls of good dripping into your soup-kettle and fry in it 1 dozen potatoes which have been pared, quartered, and laid in cold water for an hour. With them should go into the boiling fat a large, sliced onion. Cook fast but do not let them scorch. When they are browned add two quarts of boiling water, cover the pot, and simmer until the potatoes are soft and broken. Rub through a colander back into the kettle and stir in a great spoonful of butter rolled in browned flour, a tablespoonful of browned parsley, salt and pepper to taste. In another saucepan make a sugarless custard of a cup of boiling milk and 2 well-beaten eggs; take from the fire and beat fast for 1 minute, put into a heated tureen, beat in the potato and serve.--From "The National Cook Book," by Marion Harland and Christine Terhune Herrick.

3.--Buttered Lobster.

Mince fine the meat of a boiled lobster, mix the coral with it, and the green fat, 2 tablespoonfuls of vinegar, 1/4 of a lb. of butter and a saltspoon each of cayenne and made mustard. Let all get very hot. Serve on a hot dish with lettuce leaves and hard boiled egg.

4.--Tomato Croutes.

Take small tomatoes, scald and peel them, then cut a slice from the stem end. Place them, the cut side down, on slices of buttered bread, put them in a buttered baking tin, season with salt and pepper, bake 1/2 an hour. Serve with cold roast beef.

5.--English Monkey.

Soak 1 cup of stale bread crumbs in 1 cup of milk for 15 minutes. Into a saucepan put 1 teaspoonful of butter and 1/2 cup cream cheese, melt and add the crumbs, also a well-beaten egg, 1/2 teaspoonful salt and a pinch of cayenne. Cook for 3 minutes and pour it on toasted crackers.

6.--Shad Roe Croquettes.

Boil the roe for 15 minutes in salted water; then drain and mash. Mix 4 tablespoonfuls each of butter and corn-starch and stir into a pint of boiling milk. Add to this the roe and 1 teaspoonful of salt, the juice of a lemon, cayenne and a grating of nutmeg. Boil up once and let get cold. Shape into croquettes and fry.

7.--Cerkestal (TURKISH).

Take pieces of cold chicken. Make a sauce with 1 onion, sliced, 6 walnuts, chopped, 1/2 cup stock, cayenne and salt. Cook the chicken in this and when hot take it out and thicken the gravy with a little flour.

8.--Squash Bread.

Take 1 cup of stewed and strained squash, add to it 2 tablespoonfuls of sugar and 1 teaspoonful of salt; melt 1 tablespoonful of butter in 1-1/2 cups of scalded milk, and when lukewarm, add 1/2 cup yeast, and flour enough to knead; knead 1/4 hour, let rise until light; knead again and put it into greased tins, let rise again and bake.

9.--Fried Whitebait.

Clean, wash and wipe dry, season with salt, roll in flour and fry in hot fat. Melt 1 tablespoonful of butter, add a squeeze of lemon juice and a little chopped parsley, pour this over the fish and serve.

10.--Zephyrs.

Whip 1/4 of a pt. of cream. Dissolve 1 good tablespoonful of gelatine in 1/2 a pt. of milk. Warm the milk in which the gelatine is dissolved, add 2 ozs. of grated Parmesan cheese. Stir on the fire for a few moments, take it off, season with pepper and salt, add the whipped cream, pour into small moulds and let it set. When cold turn out and garnish with aspic cut into dice.

11.--Spider Cake.

Beat 2 eggs very light, add 1 cup sour milk and 1 cup of sweet milk; stir into this 2 cups corn-meal and 1/2 cup of flour, 1 tablespoonful of sugar and 1 teaspoonful each of salt and soda. Mix, and heat thoroughly, and then pour it into the spider; pour over it 1 cup of sweet milk, but _do not stir it into the batter_. Bake in a hot oven 1/2 an hour. Slip it carefully onto a platter and serve at once.

12.--Hungarian Patties.

Make a paste with 1/2 a lb. of flour, 1/4 of a lb. of lard, the yolk of 1 egg, 1/2 a teaspoonful of lemon juice, and 1/2 a teaspoonful of baking powder. Line some patty pans with this paste and fill with the following mixture. Mince 2 ozs. of chicken and 6 mushrooms, and an anchovy, season with cayenne, salt, and a little lemon peel. Mix enough white sauce with this, put into the patty pans, cover with paste, brush them over with an egg, bake in a hot oven.

13.--Clam Pie, No. 2.

Put the required number of small, soft-shell clams into a saucepan, and bring to a boil, in their own liquor. Cut cold boiled potatoes into small cubes. Line a pudding-dish with pie-crust around the sides, and put a tea-cup in the centre of the dish to support the top crust when it is added. Put a layer of clams, then the potatoes, salt and pepper, and bits of butter; dredge with flour when all the clams and potatoes are used. Add the liquor and a little water if necessary. Put on the top crust, cutting several slits in it for the steam to escape. Bake 45 minutes.

14.--Broiled Live Lobster.

Kill the lobster by inserting a sharp knife in its back between the body and tail shells cutting the spinal cord. Split the shell the entire length of the back, remove the stomach and intestinal canal, crack the large claws and lay the fish as flat as possible. Brush the meat with melted butter, season with salt and pepper, place in a broiler, and with the flesh side down, cover and broil slowly until a delicate brown, about 20 minutes. Turn the broiler and broil 10 minutes longer. Serve hot, with a sauce of melted butter.

15.--Cheese Fondu, No. 2.

One cup of bread-crumbs very fine and dry, 2 scant cups of _fresh_ milk, 1/2 a lb. of grated cheese, 3 eggs beaten very light, a small spoonful of melted butter, pepper and salt, a pinch of soda dissolved in hot water and stirred into the milk. Soak the crumbs in the milk, beat into these the eggs, and butter a baking dish. Pour the fondu into it, then sprinkle crumbs over the top. Bake in rather a quick oven until a delicate brown. Serve at once, as it will fall.

16.--Mutton Custard.

Fill a buttered custard cup lightly with stale bread-crumbs (centre of the loaf), and cooked mutton (chicken is more dainty), finely chopped. Beat an egg, add 1/2 a cup of milk, and a few grains of salt; pour the mixture over the bread and meat. Bake in a pan of hot water, or cook on the top of the stove, until the egg is lightly set. _Do not allow the water about the egg to boil._--Janet M. Hill, in "Boston Cooking School Magazine."

17.--Grape Fruit Salad.

Cut a grape-fruit in half, and scoop out the pulp in as large pieces as possible, and lay them on lettuce leaves. Make a dressing with two tablespoonfuls of sherry wine, and sugar to taste.

18.--Asparagus in Rolls.

Cut off the tips of a well-boiled bunch of asparagus, mix with a thick cream sauce, season well, and fill with this the crusts of baker's rolls.

19.--Walnut Salad, No. 1.

Crack and parboil 1/2 a lb. of English walnuts, rub off the brown skin and when cold serve on lettuce leaves, with a French dressing.

20.--Oatmeal Bread.

Boil 2 cups of oatmeal as for porridge, add 1/2 teaspoonful salt, and when cool, 1/2 cup molasses, and 1/2 a yeast cake; stir in enough wheat flour to make as stiff as it can be stirred with a spoon; put it into 2 well-greased tin pans and let stand in a warm place until very light; bake about an hour and a quarter. Do not cut until the next day.

21.--Kidney Omelet.

Take 3 eggs, 1 kidney, 2-1/2 ozs. of butter; skin the kidney and cut it very small, fry it in some of the butter until cooked. Mix 3 eggs, beating yolks and whites separately, add salt and cayenne, and the kidney, melt the butter in the pan and fry the omelet until done, turn and serve.

22.--Deviled Cheese.

Melt in a saucepan 1/2 a lb. of dairy cheese, add 1/4 of a cupful of cream or milk, a small piece of butter, 1 beaten egg, 1 teaspoonful Worcestershire sauce, a tablespoonful finely chopped cucumber pickle; season highly with salt and cayenne. Melt the cheese over hot water and stir all the ingredients until thick and smooth. Serve at once on buttered toast.

23.--Veal and Ham Pates.

Mince cold cooked veal and ham in the proportion of 2/3 veal and 1/3 ham. A few mushrooms are a pleasing addition. To each cup of the mixture allow a tablespoonful of fine crumbs; season highly with salt, a dash of cayenne, a little lemon juice, and a teaspoonful of catsup. Wet up with stock, or butter and water, and heat in a vessel set in another of hot water, to a smoking boil. Take from the fire, stir in a beaten egg and a glass of sherry, and fill in shells of pastry that have been baked empty. The shells should be hot when the mince goes in. Set in the oven for 2 or 3 minutes, but the mixture must not cook.--From "The National Cook Book," by Marion Harland and Christine Terhune Herrick.

24.--Asparagus Salad.

Boil a bunch of asparagus in rapid boiling salted water. When cooked put on a dish to cool. Cut off the tender part and place four or five stalks on a large lettuce leaf. Put a teaspoonful of thick mayonnaise dressing on the end of each bunch and serve.

25.--Chicken Pie (CONCORD STYLE).

Roll puff paste 1/4 of an inch thick, cut in diamond shaped pieces, chill thoroughly, and bake about 15 minutes. Put a stewed or fricasseed chicken into a serving dish, reheat the pastry and arrange on top of the chicken.--Janet M. Hill in "Boston Cooking School Magazine."

26.--Parmesan Puffs.

Put 4 ozs. of fine bread crumbs, 4 ozs. of grated Parmesan cheese, 2 ozs. of butter and a little salt and cayenne into a mortar, and pound them thoroughly. Bind the mixture together with a well-beaten egg and form into small balls, egg and bread crumb them and fry a light brown. Drain them and serve very hot.

27.--French Bean Omelet.

Cut up 2 tablespoonfuls of boiled French beans and stir them into 4 well-beaten eggs; add 2 tablespoonfuls of grated Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Mix well, put into an omelet pan with 2 ozs. of butter, and fry until done. Serve very hot.

28.--Curry of Lobster.